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Portugal overcame the early loss of Cristiano Ronaldo to beat France 1-0 in the final of Euro 2016 thanks to a stunning goal from subst...

Portugal overcame the early loss of Cristiano Ronaldo to
beat France 1-0 in the final of Euro 2016 thanks to a stunning goal from
substitute Eder.

Wednesday’s clash with Wales represented a seventh major
tournament semi-final for Portugal, but brought with it progress for just the
second time, 12 years on from the ignominy of falling to Greece at the end of
the European Championship they hosted.

The roles reversed at the Stade de France as the underdogs
ploughed on after Ronaldo’s first-half injury, making amends for the
humiliation of 2004 by winning their first ever major trophy as Eder secured a
1-0 win.

The substitute struck the historic blow after 109 minutes,
beating Hugo Lloris from distance as Swansea fans rubbed their eyes in
disbelief given his underwhelming time in Wales.

This final was a fitting an end to Euro 2016 – a cagey
tournament punctuated by moments of magic.

Top scorer Antoine Griezmann twice came close to producing
his own during the 90 minutes and substitute Andre-Pierre Gignac saw a
stoppage-time effort hit the post after Ricardo Quaresma tested Lloris with an
acrobatic strike.

Portugal upped the ante in extra-time and Raphael
Guerreiro’s free-kick rattled the crossbar, before Eder’s moment of magic.

Holding off Laurent Koscielny, the substitute made room to
get away a low effort from 25 yards out that saw Fernando Santos’ hard-working
side make history.

A similar roar welcomed the players onto the field – so too
a swarm of moths – as a grandiose closing ceremony was replaced by
spine-tingling renditions of the national anthems at the Stade de France.